Hat-trick of gold for record-breaking Aussie cyclists

Australia went some way towards easing the pain of Rio 2016 as the Commonwealth Games hosts sealed a hat-trick of track cycling golds on Thursday, demolishing a world record along the way.

Roared on by a capacity crowd at the Anna Meares Velodrome in Brisbane, the Australians romped home against England in the men's 4,000m team pursuit final in a record-breaking 3mins 49.804sec, beating the 3:50.265 set by Britain at Rio.

The Australians also triumphed in the women's team pursuit and women's team sprint -- each time over New Zealand -- to carry home three of the four golds up for grabs on the first day of cycling action on the track.

The men's team sprint title went to New Zealand with England again pipped into silver.

The Australian cycling team went to the Olympics two years ago aiming to win at least three golds, but they returned home with none and instead it was Britain who dominated.

Annette Edmondson, a member of the victorious women's 4,000m pursuit team, said: "After the setbacks in Rio... that is sport, and it has its ups and downs. Our thoughts were on this race and to get on with it and get the job done.

"We're now focused on how we can use this race to see what we can do in the future."